Graduation Mashimaro
by babbler
Summary: Chika and Miu celebrate their graduation with their classmates.  Somethings change and some never will.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **The author of this fanfiction (babbler) does not profit, or seek to profit, from this fanfiction. All creative rights to the story and characters belong to the original creator.

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Graduation Mashimaro

Chika was hidden in the shadows behind the stage and from there she had a perfect view of the entire reception hall their class had booked for the graduation festivities.

Multiple tables had been laid out with poker, black jack, and a multitude of other gambling games. Each student received 200 in play money that they could use for the auction later that night.

She didn't particularly feel like joining their gambling games though, and in fact, would rather have spent the night watching movies with Matsuri and Ana. Why did she have to waste her time, on her own graduation night no less, to spend time with this pack of useless people she would never see again. About a quarter of their class had shown how much they appreciated spending time with the others by skipping off.

She glowered at her father has he walked across the front of the stage. If it wasn't for him, she'd be as far from there as was humanly possible. He was always gone because of work so he wasn't even around that much, and Chika couldn't fathom why he suddenly got this insatiable urge to make her suffer. He had made a big deal out of her graduation party, and to top it off, he had to volunteer himself to chaperone. The kicker was…she closed her eyes and rubbed her temples, he volunteered her as the MC. Why didn't they just call it forced labour to begin with?

She eyed the empty pop can sitting on the speaker errr…amplifer…whatever, beside her. She bet she could beam the old fart and he wouldn't even know what hit him. She gingerly picked up the can and planned the trajectory. Leaning back, she let the can fly…

"Muhahaha…" The can went sailing into the curtains as Miu's laugh echoed throughout the gym.

Chika balled her fists. Miu was sitting close to the stage and the sudden noise had startled her. Miu always ruined everything.

The brunette was slumped in her chair with one arm hanging over the back of it and a toothpick in her mouth. Chika rolled her eyes, the girl thought she was some kind of gangster…but then, with a mind like hers, who could really tell what she was thinking. No one who knew her ever needed an explanation for her actions, one had to simply say it was Miu, and anyone who ever met her would understand.

Miu had a huge stack of chips on her side of the table-more than the dealer actually- and the other four faces at the table were in various stages of anger…she knew that feeling well enough.

The guy beside her was bright red and kinda looked a little depressed on top of being angry.

Miu was saying something but Chika couldn't hear it over the music, "…Your kidneys are mine and if you want to get them back you'll have to put that…can of drink on the line." The guy sighed and put his drink in the middle of the table. She was willing to bet it was how the conversation was going and Miu was anything if not too lazy to get off her ass and walk six feet to get herself a drink.

Miu was obviously winning far more hands than she was losing and that just didn't sit right with Chika. She crept to the edge of the stage and looked more closely but Miu didn't appear to be overtly cheating. Then again, the dealer (Mr. Kimura) would have definitely booted her from the table if she were sloppy with her cheating.

"Maybe she's hiding cards in her bra?" Chika said aloud, trusting the music to drown her words out. Miu was wearing a suit but her shirt was undone partway down her chest. She certainly have enough room and all she had to do was take out a bit of the stuffing…not that she ever looked at the brunette's chest…or cared really. Chika shook her head, trying to get the images out.

Yuki, who was seated opposite Miu was blushing heavily. There had been some stirrings earlier in the year that he was rendezvousing with a certain retar...I mean Miu during classes. She didn't know why she remembered that. The thing with stories involving Miu was that half the people telling stories seemed to be playing a game of one-upmanship and the other half a game of bull****.

Earlier in the year there had been a large party at someone's house when their parents were out of town. The story goes that during the night, when everyone was wasted or looking for somewhere to pass out, some guy came across a room with Miu in it. The stories vary: 1. She was giving some guy a lap dance. 2. She was snorting crack off of a prostitute's butt. 3. She was in a psychotic rage tearing apart the room. 4. She jumped out the window with a briefcase full of money into a waiting helicopter and flew away. Frankly, Chika thought the stories told more about the teller than they did about Miu, since you couldn't believe any of it, even the mundane stuff, but you could see her doing those things. Chika wouldn't have been surprised if she had convinced a naïve group of girls to slaughter a goat and pray to the god of alcohol.

Just thinking of the stories made her agitated for some reason and she couldn't quite put her finger on. She kicked a small block of wood and it went sailing across the stage. There was a curious whimper when it hit the curtain on the other side but she didn't really care. If people were fooling around over there it was their fault for being in the way.

Her cell phone vibrated and she hesitantly pulled it out hoping it wasn't her clueless dad calling her from the other side of the room. She walked to the back of the stage where the music was less intense.

"Hello," she said tersely.

"Chika? You sound mad." It was Ana thankfully and her mood improved.

"It's nothing really. It's…It's just been a long night." Chika said wondering why Ana sounded like she had been running.

"You still want to watch movies a…ah…ah..fterwards?" There was a deep voice close to the phone and then some hurried whispering from Ana that she couldn't make out.

"Okay…I'll call you later."

"Kay." There was more shrill whispering and the phone finally went dead.

Chika rubbed her temples for what must have been the fiftieth time that night. She eyed a drill laying on top of a tool box and then the can of drink in her hand, she needed to wash away those ugly mental images. She didn't much like Ana's boyfriend, though Nobue hated him more.

"Hehehe." Nobue really intensely hated Ana's boyfriend Mike and it was always satisfying to see her beat on him like she did Miu all those years ago. Ana's wardrobe had changed from frilly brightly coloured dresses to short skirts, fishnets, and metallica t-shirts; to Nobue, this was grounds for justifiable homicide.

Chika hated him because his hand always found it's way to Ana's squishy bits and it was distracting when they were trying to watch a movie or do anything really. They had had a hotpot last Christmas and it was difficult to ignore Mike rooting around in his girlfriends panties while they were trying to eat. For that matter, you'd couldn't walk behind them either. Chika swore. Or leave them alone in your room for even a second. She had seriously considered burning those sheets.

"Honey, what are you doing?"

"Go away dad."

"Don't you take that tone with me young lady!" He looked like he was going to say more but his expression lightened. "Matsuoka-chan is cleaning up at the poker table, why don't you go give her a run for her money." He grabbed her by the shoulders and walked her down to the reception room floor.

"If I see you up there again…"

Chika didn't even listen to the threat. It wasn't like he could ground her when he was never home.

Chika sighed, and finally took a seat next to Miu and her tiny mountain of poker chips. She should at least get rid of her 200 tokens.

"RED FACE!" Miu jabbed her finger in Chika's cheek. "….I can't think of anything to add to that. You looked pissed."

"I'm not having a good night?"

"So so Chika are you finally nostalgic and sad that it's the last time you'll see these people?" She made a big dramatic sweeping motion around the room.

"There's at least one person I'll be happy to never…"

"Awww! I bet you're going to miss Harada stealing your stuff and that cute little giggle Misa makes when she's talking about you behind your back." Miu pointed out the people in question. Misa was staring at her with a slight wicked smile.

Harada was just annoying but Misa was a real b-word.

"Oh and I bet you'll especially miss that rumour about you and your pink Popsicle love. I shouldn't leave out Kimura sensei! He's going to be so sad when you're gone and he can't look up your skirt when we walk up the stairs when we switch classes."

"We'll you shut-up!"

"If you continue to make remarks like that. I'm going to have to ask you to leave." Mr. Kimura gave her a glare that could peel paint.

"I need a smoke. Come on Chicka." Miu grabbed her by the wrist.

"I'm not going."

"I won't burn you this time I promise! Come on go out there with me. Dammit." Miu tugged on her with both hands.

"I refuse to go out …with…you…" Chika held onto the chair has Miu pulled her across the floor.

"WHAT! Even after I let you pick my most sacred flower? I thought you loved me!"

"Alright! I'll go just shut the f^$% up." Chika raced out the door at the side of the building.

"Do you think th..OW!" Chika kicked Miu in the shin.

"You don't even smoke so why did you have to come out here?"

"I have to keep up my image." Miu bounced on one leg rubbing her throbbing shin.

"You don't have an image! Chika rubbed her shoulders. The night air was colder than she expected and the thin fabric of her dress wasn't helping. Her tiny arms were already covered in goose bumps.

Miu sat on the fire escape steps and, grudgingly, Chika went to sit beside her. Miu leaned back and looked up at the sky.

She suddenly jumped up. "My blazer smells so bad…makes me wish I didn't steal it from Daiske's dad that night." She brought the fabric up to her nose and than pulled the whole thing off of herself. "YOU! Wear it." She dropped it on Chika's shoulders.

"No way am I wearing your stinky blazer…"

"I'll pinch your neck and make it look like a hickey…and I'm faster than you."

"Grrr." Chika glared at Miu. "If I'd had sneakers on…"

"Hehehe…does your dad know how well you climb chain link fences in heels?"

Now there was a conversation. She love to tell her father she needed a new pair of shoes because she ruined her old ones scrambling over a fence while being chased by a middle aged slightly overweight cop. He nearly grabbed her leg…

"I wish I was twelve again," Miu said vacantly staring into the distance.

"Really?" That was a little hard to believe for Chika with Miu being a bit of a hedonist and all. "But we can do so much more now. I love driving."

"I love putting fear into the hearts of pedestrians and small animals too, " Miu stuck her arms out straight and leaned back, like she was accelerating at full speed, "but I like being driven more and it was nice back then."

Chika liked sitting there looking at the stars, or at least the sky, since there was too much light pollution to see the stars. It reminded her of when she was younger and they used to lie outside her window on the roof and talk for hours. It was cooler and their parents were never around anyway to scold them about being up so late.

Chika jumped a little. She had zoned out for a bit and the last time that happened was in chemistry and a certain part of her body that she didn't want to mention still hurt from the alligator clips. She looked over at the girl beside her cautiously, as if eye contact might startle her into doing something rash, but she was still staring up at the sky.

"Yeah, it was nice back then just sitting around my kotatsu even if you were an idiot."

"It takes two people to make an idiot."

"I wish we could still do that but Mike and Ana are always freaking together and he keeps ERRRG! I almost decked him last time…he's always such a jerk to me."

"I field kicked him once." Miu stood, bounced a few times, ran forward, and made a vicious kick; her foot going above her head.

"Field kicked as in American football?"

"I was hoping for 30 to 40 yards but they only moved about a yard."

"….What did he do?"

Miu looked at her with a blank look on her face. "I just wanted to kick him."

"Wait a minute…that was the night he was being an asshole and freaking poured that beer over my head. I was soaked and miserable the rest of the night!"

Chika stared at Miu. She was pretending to smoke a cigarette and Chika bet she was secretly wishing it were cold enough to see her breath to complete the illusion. Did Miu really kick him because of what he'd done to her? Thinking about that gave her a weird feeling in her stomach that she couldn't quite explain. It was almost like the nervous fluttery feeling before you go on stage but not quite.

"Miu…did you kick him because he was a jerk to me?"

"What? No!" she giggled. "My team was down 31-0 and we needed that field goal to win the pennant!…But all was for not and we lost…I will never forget the look in their eyes as I walked off the court." She grabbed Chika and shook her. "Their eyes still haunt me!"

"Miu…a field goal is worth 3 points. There was no way you were going to win and it seems like something else was wrong with that story too…"

"That was the night you flashed all those guys!"

"Wha…what?"

"I'm starving. You think they still have cake left?" Miu ran inside not waiting for an answer.

Chika looked at her watch and grudgingly stood. They'd be looking for her soon for the auction and maybe she could get it going early so they could go home. Chika slowly walked back into the building, taking a seat beside the stage. Her classmates seemed to be ignoring her. Miu's outburst before hadn't caused her any grief.

Her phone vibrated and she reluctantly answered it hoping it wasn't Ana again.

"Chicka-san?"

"Yes Mitsuo-kun."

"I…I…was wondering if I could join your little group while you watch movies tonight."

"So you think our group is little eh? Think it's unimportant do you? Something not worth mentioning?"

"N…n…no, of course not! I just meant that there would only be five of us. I didn't mean anything."

"If you can keep your hands out of Matsuri's pants you can join us."

"…"

"Mitsuo-kun?"

"Hai! I…I…I will definitely keep my hands… respect Matsuri-chan. Thank-you Chicka-san."

Mitsuo wasn't so bad and Nobue even liked him. In contrast to Mike he was a breath of fresh air. The two of them could hardly touch without turning luminescent and Chika liked it that way. She also liked that he was utterly frightened of her. For some reason he thought she was violent but that was just stupid, she wasn't violent at all.

Chika looked down at her arm to check her watch and realized she was still wearing Miu's stolen blazer. She timidly looked around, and then, when she was sure no one was watching, brought the jacket to her nose. She hadn't really smelt anything when Miu put the jacket on her…

_Miu you dumbass! This jacket doesn't smell bad. It smells new and a little bit like….you." _She pinched the bridge of her. She knew what Miu smelled like and that thought didn't appeal to her in the least.

She draped the blazer over the back of the chair next to her. _I bet Miu's lying to me._

"When's the auction start missy?"

"In ten minu…" It was Daiske's dad. "In about ten minutes." He had his arms crossed and didn't look very happy; he was also not wearing a blazer.

_I can't believe she actually stole clothes from this guy!_

"Excuse me…is this your blazer on the chair here?"

He picked it up and looked at the tag inside. "No. My wife has mine. Said this room was kinda chilly…I'd be sorry if I'd lost this, it looks expensive."

It wasn't like it was the first time Miu had lied to her.

"Chika-chan!" Chika jumped an inch of her chair as someone grabbed her shoulders from behind. "Some of the things for the auction went missing so we need you to start the slideshow while we figure something out."

"Umm…okay. Is it set up?"

"Everything is ready to go." The girl ran off to the backstage area where a couple of teachers were awaiting her.

She didn't even know there was a slideshow. It be nice if they told the MC these things. Now she had to read a slideshow she's never saw before to make up for people being too stupid to keep the auction prizes somewhere they couldn't be stolen.

She walked up to the stage and took the microphone.

"Before the auction begins we'd like to do the "Student Wish" slideshow so if everyone could gather around the front of the stage we can get started." Chika jumped, a stage ninja slipped a remote for the projector into her hands.

"Okay, here we go. The Student Wish Slideshow. I haven't seen this myself so bear with me…and also direct any hostility toward the class committee…or Miu."

The slideshow consisted of pictures and in a few cases drawings making funny observations about the people in her class…or it would have been funny if it wasn't totally neutered by some teacher or parent. It was quite easy to see where changes had been made; they didn't even use the same backgrounds.

"Okay next up is Daiske…I think unless they went screwy with the alphabetical order again." She clicked the button. "'Daiske wishes the farthest he ever got with a girl wasn't inappropriately touching the pencil he stole from Chika'…." There was a picture of Daisuke writing with a huge smile photoshopped onto his face. Chika squeezed her eyes tight. Maybe this thing wasn't so neutered after all.

The crowd nervously laughed. Daiske looked liked he had his ghost sucked out and just stared off into the distance. His dad looked equally, if not more mortified, and mimicked his son staring off into the distance.

"Next is…umm…" She clicked the button. ""Kana wishes she didn't have an inverted cycle'…" There were twenty-six tiny pictures of Kana yelling at someone and two of her looking pleasant and smiling. "You guys are mean."

The room was getting more tense now and the parents were fidgeting in their chairs. Not all the parents had come but there were more than enough that there were going to be some explaining to do afterwards or at the very least extra embarrassment.

"Reina wishes a teenage pregnancy was socially acceptable, or at least she's going too….' Alright moving on…" Chika gritted her teeth. She was lucky the words came up on the laptop she was reading off of before they appeared on the large screen the audience could see.

Chika fingered the remote but hesitated. Next would most likely be **her**. She looked out at the very tense audience. Some of the chairs were now free and she guessed they were from parents sensibly leaving them to their fun, though Reina had also left. She couldn't bring herself to push the button.

Click. The screen changed on it's own leaving a "Chika wishes" followed by a blank line. Chika's wiped some sweat off her brow.

"Ugh…" She clicked the button. "'Chika wishes the trees weren't so interesting so she could pay attention in class.'" There was a picture of her staring out the window while everyone else was busily writing notes. The picture was blurry and angled up towards her but it was pretty obvious that she wasn't paying attention to the lecture.

Chika pushed the button again and another picture appeared on screen. This time she was dressed differently, there were no leaves on the trees, and she was staring out the window again. She clicked once more and a similar picture appeared…and again…and again. All of them were different days and none of which she was paying attention to class.

"Haha. I just like to remind my dad that I'm an honour student so please don't ground me." She gulped. He definitely did not look happy.

"So the next one should be…Miu? Uh? How the heck does Matsuoka come after Ito? There's at least a dozen names between ours!" There was just a blank screen with "Miu wished" written on it. Chika had a bad feeling. Her's was pretty tame but Miu's could be anything.

"I wash my hands of this Miu."

"Just push the damned button already!" she yelled back.

"Okay." A picture of the class taken from a slightly different angle appeared on screen. Miu sat resting her head in her hands and staring across the aisle. Chika grumbled, she was in the picture too since she sat across from Miu and she was not paying attention again. They were burning her again and it wasn't even her wish! Another picture appeared, Miu was holding her pencil to her notebook but staring out the window looking as if she'd gotten distracted during the act since everyone was busily writing around her. Chika sighed happily, she was in the picture too and doing work this time. Yet another flashed on screen, this time centred on Miu lying on her arms with her head pointed towards the window.

Chika looked out at Miu sitting in the crowd and shivered. She looked so innocent sitting there smiling at her with wide eyes that could only mean bad things to come even if she hadn't made the damned slideshow. _I hope this isn't mean for my sake._ A little ball of guilt grew in the pit of her stomach. She didn't want to see Miu hurt. She pressed the button and another picture appeared that could have been a duplicate of the first if Miu and her classmates weren't wearing different clothes.

Chika sighed, she was sure they were going to make some stupid joke about birds of a feather flocking together or something since neither one of them ever paid attention. As hard as it was to make Miu cry, she didn't want to see it, and some trite joke about paying attention was going to make her shed tears of anything but laughter. She pressed the button.

"'Miu wishes that..errr...I would stare longingly in her direction...instead of out the window."


	2. Chapter 2

**_Chapter 2_**

_She wishes I stare longingly at her?_ There was a feeling in her chest she could only imagine was her heart flinging itself around her ribcage. _What does that mean?_ She suddenly felt hot and flustered. Every single eye in the room was on her, well, except Miu. She was just sitting there and glaring at the crowd around her. She seemed to sigh and then looked up at Chika and shrugged her shoulders.

"What do you want from me?" she said, though Chika couldn't actually hear her and her lips didn't move but she'd known that baka for a long time. Her brain is like math problem with numbers and letters and symbols you've never seen before doing complicated seemingly impossible things, but if you know the basics behind the insanity, things start making sense...most of the time.

_Oh crap! How long have I stalled! I better keep going._

"Whoever came up with these has too much time on their hands." Chika wiped the sweat from her brow. _These lights are so hot._ "Next we have..."

There was tap on her shoulder and a flurry of whispering in her ear. The stage ninja disappearing as quickly as he had came. They had finally found the damned auction stuff.

"It looks like the auction will go ahead in ten minutes. They have some really nice items so please stick around to participate."

Miu was grinning already. Chika had no idea where she stashed all those chips she earned nor did she want to know. _I don't care what she did with them...I do want those headphones though. The only prize there I actually want aside from some of the gift cards._

She hopped off the stage and walked over to the grinning idiot. "How many chips do you have? Coughcheatercough." People like Miu don't win at games of skill.

A smile grew across her face and she leaned back and put her arms over the back of the chair...and opened her legs. _Guh! Where are my eyes going! _Chika screwed up her face.

"None."

"You have no chips?"

"I hove noe cheeps," she said in Engrish.

"Wot?" Chika also said in Engrish. She couldn't help it. It had spat out of her mouth before she had a chance.

"I sold them to someone who wants the PS3." Another face splitting grin. "5000 yen."

"I take it back. You aren't an idiot...you're a huge idiot."

"Do you know what I can buy with that much? If you were a hooker I could hire you and still get 4500 back in changeOW!" she groaned, holding her head in her arms.

There was a slight throbbing in Chika's hand now. Her body moved on its own.

"Some of those items are worth more than 5000 yen! Why would you sell your chips!" Now Chika's hand and head were throbbing.

"He had more chips than me and the girls are banding together! I'm not going to be able to outbid anybody and I've had a PS3 for years."

She had a point...and it hurt her to say it.._.I'd think I take the sure bet of cash upfront that trying to bid and ending up with nothing_. _They won't be worth anything after the auction._ "Why didn't you ask for mine? We could have gotten more money." _What a change in tone. I'm such an hypocrite._

_I wouldn't mind getting out of here. I don't want to stay for the auction if I'm not going to have enough to bet on anything._

"Tsk. Tsk. How quickly your tune changes." She stood and swivelled to the right and then to the left.

"A lady doesn't ask, she takes."

What?

"Ito-san?" I was suddenly enveloped in a group of shrill voices, hands tugging at her dress. "Can we have your chips? PLEASE!"

She couldn't help but sigh. They were batting their eyes at her and pouting and trying their cute voices..._I'm not a guy! That doesn't work on me!_ _These girls I've hardly ever talked to outside of group work! There are some people here I'm going to be glad to never see again._

"500 yen." Miu said in a singsong voice.

The girls instantly dropped their sweet facades and turned half lidded eyes on Miu. "We're not paying money for chips!" They turned back to Chika. "We can have your chips right? Right?"

"600." I just couldn't help but say it. Miu's jaw opened and she wrung her fists and started bouncing happily.

"You're so stingy! What are you going to use them for? Everyone has way more than you! You didn't even play the games!"

"700."

"Hahahaha." Miu gripped her sides and shook with stilted laughter.

"Okay! Okay!" One of the girls plucked her purse out of her handbag and shoved a coin into Chika's hand. "500 yen. I'm not paying more!" They scurried off to the corner where there were more people to proposition.

Miu wrapped her arm around Chika's shoulders and rested her head against her friend's. "Wasn't that fun! You just got money for nothing. Hahahah! The look on her face when you said it...smrk!"

"Hmm."

"You're so cool. Makes me wish you'd stare longingly in my direction." Miu put her arms to her chest and pouted just like those girls had done a second ago.

Thump! Thump! "Why...why...do you think...they said that in the slideshow?" _Stupid heart beating too fast!_

"How the hell do I know? Who wants to look at a horse face like yours?"

"Tsk!" Now her heart was thumping for a different reason! "I have the same face as onee-chan and you said she was pretty."

"Two horsesOW!" Miu crumpled to her knees and held her head. "My brains!"

_What does Miu really think of me? We don't even hangout that much anymore. Miu-chan is always off doing her own thing. If she really liked me wouldn't she ask me out or something? She not shy..._She squinted her eyes shut._ Why am I even considering this? It's no secret she's gay and I'm her...was her best friend so of course they're going to make the joke about us! I even went on stage with the jacket for her suit. I couldn't have walked into it more if I tried. Maybe she was even in on it..._

_I don't even like girls and especially not a stick with tiny boobs...if you could even call them that. She has nice lips though...I always wish I had lips like hers. Her face isn't awful either. _

"We should do something since it's our graduation night!" She grabbed Chika's shoulders and started shaking.

"Okay. Okay! Just stop shaking me!" _Oh yeah_. "We're watching a movie."

"YES! That will do." She walked forward and few steps and turned on her heel. "Come on! Lets get out of here...or do you still need to MC."

"I'm done so lets go. I just have to tell my dad." Chika quickly scanned the room. _Who knows what Dad would say about leaving so soon._

Miu walked over to the exit door from the gym to wait for me and I approached dad who was sitting and sipping a drink at the back of the room. He looked kind of bored just sitting there with his arms crossed and by himself.

"Dad, I'm done MCing so I'm going home."

"Okay. Do you need a lift?"

_That was a surprising response. I figured he'd try and make me stay._ "No. I'll walk."

"Are you sure? It's chilly." He eyed Chika's...blazer. "Whose jacket do you have there?"

"It's Miu's. Remember she wore a suit instead of a dress. A bunch of girls did." _Well, two did. Miu and this tall girl. She said she didn't feel right in a dress since she was so tall. Miu, on the other hand...who knows. She's always liked girly clothing so I have no idea why she wore a suit. _

"...are you two...you know?"

"Are we what?"

"Oh never mind. I'm staying for the auction since I have some chips. I won't be home until late. I'm going out for a drink with some old friends."

"Bye dad."

He waved at me and Chika hurried over to Miu...who offered her arm which she did not and would not take.

"You don't want to walk with me?" She pouted, sticking out her lip.

"No I do not." They pushed open the doors and walked out into the chilly night air. It had gotten cloudy and the wind had gone down. The cold didn't quite have the bite it had before.

_It was quiet for this time of night. I figured there'd be more traffic or people walking about but there was only an odd car every few minutes and nothing but the sound of her heels clicking against the sidewalk. I'm almost the same height as Miu with these heels. If she were wearing them she'd tower over everyone and even some of the guys._

"Miu? Why'd you wear a suit?"

She turned an eye to Chika and looked straight ahead again. "I felt like it."

"Miu!"

"Maybe...so I wouldn't look strange if I danced."

"...but you wouldn't have looked weird." _Come to think of it._ "You didn't dance with anyone did you?"

"I asked you and you said no. You said I don't want to and crossed you arms and made a face like this." She made a face like she had just tasted sour milk.

"I did not...when did you ask me?" _I don't remember being asked...would I have said yes if she asked? She'd probably do something stupid like throw me back and swing me around so my skirt flies up and flashes the entire room._

"There was one song left and you were reading your MC notes."

"When you pulled on my arm? I thought you were screwing around!"

"Who cares it's not a big deal!" She hauled out some money out of her pocket and she turned a evil grin on me. "This is burning a hole in my pocket. Lets buy some booze!"

_I had unconsciously taken a few steps to the left and away from her. It was just something you did when you were around Miu enough and she gets that smile on her face...especially when she gets that smile on her face. Not that it was a bad smile or anything. She actually looks kinda pretty when she smiles._

"For one, yuck, and for two, we're not old enough to buy it."

"Quit your bitching. Lets go in here. You buy the snacks." She pointed to grocery store across the street.

"I only have 500 yen."

"Then hike up your skirt and show some OW!"

"You have 5000! Give me some. I'm buying yours too!"

"Fine but I expect," she jumped back and snapped her mouth shut. "Here's a thousand." She dropped some coins in Chika's hand and then sprinted across the empty street.

_She could have least waited for the crosswalk signal. I looked to the right and then to the left and jogged across the still empty street._

Miu had disappeared somewhere, probably looking for the liquor section. Chika walked down the closest aisle to her and picked up two bags of chips and a box of Pocky. _I should pick somethings up for the other girls too, I guess. _She picked up a box of chocolate...things that looked good and then some watermelon candy. She walked back to the freezer section and pulled a couple of drinks from the fridge, she turned to walk to the cashier, but walked back to the fridge and took out two more that they could use to mix the alcohol with if need be. She walked slowly to the cashier trying not to drop anything and paid for her things.

Miu was already waiting for her outside. Her smile like a 100 watt bulb.

Wow! They did sell it to her. "What did you get?" Chika eyed the other girl's shopping bag.

"Bailey's." She swung the bag in Chika's face.

Chika froze then her face turn to a frown and she glowered at Miu. "You told me you use that to get in girls' pants because it just tastes like chocolate milk and you can get them drunk."

"Hahaha...ha...I don't know what you're talking about." She turned towards home taking big steps.

Chika glared after her but finally ran up to match pace with Miu. "You better not try anything with Ana or Matsuri! I'll kill you in your sleep."

Miu shook her head. "Matsuri is a crybaby. Do you really think she'll even try it?"

"Doesn't that stuff taste like chocolate milk? Why wouldn't she try it?"

"You think I'm going to give those twits any? It's mine...but you can have some." she huffed. Her eyes widened and a smile crept across her face. "You haven't tried it? It's delicious. Come here and try it." Miu darted into an alleyway.

_Following her into a dark alleyway is **EXACTLY **what I want to do tonight. Though I suppose one could argue I've been doing this my entire life._ Chika turned and plodded after her friend. Miu was busily unscrewing the cap with glee. She lifted it towards her lips but paused midway and then thrust it toward Chika.

Chika took the bottle from her and placed it to her lips. _Doesn't smell like alcohol at all. "_You just want an indirect kiss don't you." She took a long taste from the bottle and then handed it back to Miu.

_Tasted like...I don't know...sweet and good._

"Us adults don't concern ourselves with indirect kisses like you children do...besides I already kissed you twice." Miu took a taste from the bottle and then screwed back on the lid.

Chika closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Wait...what? Twice!"

Miu placed the bottle back into the bag and they walked out of the alley. "Truth or dare two years ago. You couldn't suppress your urges anymore and knocked me off her feet." Miu twirled around with her arms outstretched and then hugged herself. "I still get butterflies thinking about it. Makes me feel all warm and tingly inside and especially tingly..."

"I wasn't even playing and you kissed me out of nowhere. You nearly broke my nose!"

"Hmpf! I don't remember it that way you lecher."

Chika's phone buzzed. "When is the movie?" Matsuri's SMS read.

_Oh yeah. I better text them._ Chika tapped away at her phone sending two messages that the movie would be at 11:00. She didn't send it to the guys. She didn't care if they came or not.

Chika jogged ahead to catch up to Miu, it's not like she'd stop and wait. Miu was drinking from the bottle with it mostly concealed in the paper bag.

"You look like a drunk homeless guy doing that," Chika said breathlessly. She silently cursed a small blister at the back of her foot.

"Your turn to look like a drunk." She forced the bottle into Chika's hands. "Have you ever been ossified before."

Chika took a small taste from the bottle. It tasted slightly of strawberries now...probably from Miu's lip gloss. Chika's cheeks tinged with pink. _Indirect kiss._ She shook her head and passed back the bottle. "What if a policeman sees you? They definitely know what you..we were doing."

"Are the police invisible?"

"What?"

"I don't see anyone do you? Our houses are right there." Miu pointed up the street.

_Wasn't that even more reason not to be obviously underage drinking?_ They weren't exactly inconspicuous in their graduation finery. Chika picked up the pace. The shear joy of having her feet out of her shoes more than made up for a little extra soreness from walking fast.

Chika was happy they made it to her house before Miu decided to start drinking again. She opened the door and kicked off her shoes. She stepped into the hallway, wiggled her toes, and rocked from the ball of her foot to her heel. That was a relief.

_I wonder where my sister is? Her shoes aren't here. I was hoping she'd be here on my graduation night._ Chika sighed.

Miu rushed past Chika and into the kitchen and returned with two glasses as quickly has she had left. She walked into the living room and placed them on the coffee table and filled them with alcohol.

"People use milk for mix but I think that's gross." She sat on the floor and scooted under the kotatsu. She felt Chika's eyes on her as she did so and motioned her over to join her.

"We're going to get caught if we drink that here!" Chika crossed her arms but still followed Miu's lead and sat by the kotatsu.

"To greener pastures!" Miu raised her glass toward Chika.

Chika continued to glare at the other girl, putting her hand on her own glass but refusing to raise it. "What kind of toast is that?"

Miu rigidly kept her glass in the air.

"Fine fine. To greener pastures." Chika raised her glass and clinked it against Miu.

Miu scowled at Chika. "If my toast was so awful come up with you own!"

Chika tapped her finger against her chin and turned her eyes toward the ceiling. _To greener pastures is just too weird. It makes it sound like we're cows or sheep or something. How about_...her mind went blank. _This IS hard. "_How about to happy endings and new beginnings?"

Miu's lips trembled. "Happy endings eh?" Miu's face cracked into a smile.

"Did I say something weird?" Chika stared at her friend.

"You'll understand when you're older." Miu grew serious. "Has anyone had the birds and bees talk with you honey?"

Chika eyes snapped shut and her lip twitched. "Don't call me 'honey' that's gross...and...I know more than you about that stuff...probably."

"Oh?" Miu smiled harder her eyes growing wide and twinkling. "I bet you're such a cunning linguist."

"What? Are you saying that because of my toast?" Chika swooshed the liquid around in her glass.

Miu tapped her on the knee and took a taste of her drink then leaned back on her elbows. "You'll understand when you're older sweetheart."

"Miu..."

"Yes Chika-sama?"

"Miu..." Chika groaned.

"Yes...Chika-dono."

Chika rubbed her face. _I brought this on herself. If I can think of a proper toast that doesn't have some weird perverted meaning maybe Miu will forget about this. _Chika rested her elbows on the table. "How about...to friends and future happiness."

Miu narrowed her eyes but sat up and placed her hand on her glass. "I guess that will do _Kāsan._" She raised her glass and waited for Chika's glass to meet hers.

"To friends and future happiness." They said together clinking their glasses lightly and both taking a long taste of the now very warm liquid.

_What's up with those honorifics? Kasan? Why is she calling me Kasan? I'll never understand Miu's brain as long as I live. Some of the craziness sure but actually understanding her...never. _Chika pulled her legs out from under the kotatsu and got to her feet. "I'm going to see if onee-chan is hiding in her room. She's supposed to be here."

"Maybe she's out to get some cigarettes?" Miu took another long taste of her drink.

"Maybe." Chika raced for the stairs and climbed them two at a time. Her sister's door was closed and she knocked. _I smell smoke._ She wafted air towards her nose out of habit like she learned in chemistry class. Her sister had definitely been there recently but there was no sound inside her room. _Sleeping...but her shoes aren't in the porch...maybe she hid them._ She tried the door and it swung open. "Aww...I hope she's home soon to watch the movie." Chika sighed and plodded slowly back down the stairs.

"I WOULD DO ANYTHING FOR LOVE...BUT I..."

Chika jumped, fell to her butt, and bounced down several steps. "Miu you idiot. Messing with the stereo!" She rose to her feet and rubbed her sore posterior. She descended the stairs carefully, her ear drums having not recovered from the Meatloaf trauma. She peaked into the living room.

Miu was holding a hand to her left ear and her other was tapping her phone which had a cord snaking out of it and into the stereo. She tapped a couple more times and then turned the volume up slightly.

"Miu-chan?"

Miu's back went straight. "Yes?"

"That better not be my phone."

"Course not. I have music too idiot." Miu adjusted the volume once more.

_It's time for letting go_

_of all of our 'if onlies'_

_Cause we don't have a time machine_

"What song is this?" Chika raised an eyebrow.

Miu placed her phone besides the stereo and twirled around. "Oh I don't know! Who cares." She froze mid twirl staring at Chika.

"Miu-chan? Did you break?"

"Baka," Miu sighed. Before Chika could react Miu's face was close to her own, their hands locked together. "Dance with me! Neither one of us got to dance tonight!"

Chika drew back her face. "You're being gross."

Miu took a couple of steps back and puffed out her cheeks. "Come on! Everyone dances on their graduation night! Do you want to look back when you're old and warmly remember that awesome dance...with your _dad_?"

_Hmm._

"You're such a wet blanket."

Chika huffed and straightened out her dress. _If you put it that way._ "Fine. You better not do anything weird." She glowered at Miu. "I...I'm barefoot. Don't we need shoes?"

"Nah...I'll start the song over."

"Okay."

The two reached out to hold each others' waist, then shoulders, then waist again.

"Are you leading or me?"

"There's a lead? Just grab my waist and I'll put her hands on your shoulders because you're taller." Chika hesitantly rested her hands on her friend's slight frame.

_So breathe it in and breathe it out  
And listen to your heartbeat  
There's a wonder in the here and now  
It's right there in front of you  
And I don't want you to miss the miracle of the moment _

"Ow. my foot."

"Sorry."

"Ow. Hehe."

"We really suck at this."

"Who cares? No one can see us."

_And if it brings you tears  
Then taste them as they fall  
Let them soften your heart_

_When did I? _Chika looked at her hands now clasped behind Miu's neck. _Whatever. Miu isn't being weird._ _She's just looking over in the corner. _ Chika turned her head slightly to see where Miu was looking but there was no one there.

A slight gust of air against moved across Chika's face and then something soft pressed against her lips and then it was gone again. Chika's eyes widened.

_Did she just kiss me! Kiss me? No...no way. Miu wouldn't peck me on the lips...she'd...she's blushing..._

"_Baka."_

"If you want to kiss me do it properly." Chika's hands were suddenly very sweaty.

Miu turned her head slowly but Chika couldn't meet her eyes. "How about..."

Miu hugged Chika closer but girl's hearts thumping loudly in their ears. Chika looked up and met Miu slightly open lips with her own.

_Warm. Slightly moist. Soft. This isn't horrible._ She moved away for a second and breathed in. _That wasn't horrible. _Chika threw her lips at Miu again and Miu startled and jerked her head back. With a breath she regained her composure and leaned into the kiss.

Warmer, wetter this time. _I don't know what I'm doing...but Miu does. _She felt Miu's tongue slowly, sensually slide across her lip and she tensed. Miu was going to ruin this by jamming her tongue in. Chika shook.

Only more warm wetness. Chika's top lip was somehow now between Miu's. Chika opened her eyes, realizing just then she had them closed them. Miu's were still tightly shut a look of..._glee...no that's not it._ Chika closed her eyes again.

Chika ran her tongue along Miu's bottom lip, just has she felt Miu do a moments ago.

_There's only One who knows  
What's really out there waiting  
And all the moments yet to be  
And all we need to know  
Is He's out there waiting  
To Him the future's history_

The music stopped and Chika and Miu parted lips.

"I'll...Onee-chan?" Chika froze, lips millimetres from Miu, and stared at the doorway to the living room. There was Nobue resting against the door frame and holding a unopened beer in her right and the rest of the six pack in her left.

"What?" Nobue pulled the tab on her beer and held it to her mouth.

"How...how...how much did...you...see," Chika spluttered. Face glowing with embarrassment.

Nobue shrugged her shoulders.

"I told you." Miu smirked.

Nobue shrugged again. "I guess you were right." She walked across to the kotatsu and, holding her open can in her teeth, plucked a unopened beer from the plastic, and placed it next to their bottle of Bailey's. Without another word she walked out of the room. "You still owe me for last time. I didn't forget." Her head popped back into view for a second.

"I know I know." Miu snorted.

"Owe her for what?" Chika glared finally loosening her grip on Miu. "Did you bet on me!"

"Hahaha...ha...of course not. Don't be stupid."

Chika's eyebrow twitched. "Miu-chan...did you bet I was a lesbian? That better not have been what you were betting on!" Her nails dug into Miu's flesh.

"No! I just...bet that I'd get you to dance with me."

Chika gaped and her face reddened. She turned her eyes toward he shoes and hugged into Miu. "I...I love you."

"I love you too."

"I thought for sure you'd say 'Gross! You're in love with a girl?'"

"I thought about it."

"I bet you did."

Miu's phone was by the stereo and she quickly picked another song with an outstretched arm, the other still tightly hanging onto Chika. "Another dance?"

**End.**


End file.
